John Hammond

The sad problem with the blues these days is that even the best singers--Shemekia Copeland, Buddy Guy, John Hammond Jr.--can't find new material to match their voices. Thousands of country-music songwriters are laboring over blank sheets of paper in Nashville offices as you read this, but blues singers are forced to retread the same old Willie Dixon and Robert Johnson songs forever. Hammond, who tinkered successfully a few years ago with revolutionary arrangements of Tom Waits' catalog, returns here to chestnuts such...

The Sports Xchange NBA roundup: Nets choose Hollins as coach The Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday agreed in principle to a deal making Lionel Hollins their next head coach after the departure of Jason Kidd. Hollins' deal could be worth as much as four years and $20 million if the team picks up his fourth-year option, ESPN.com reported. The deal comes just two days after the Nets made a trade with Milwaukee to allow Kidd out of his contract so the Bucks could hire him. Hollins...

John Hammond Got Love If You Want It (Pointblank) (STAR)(STAR) On his first disc for a major label in many moons, bluesman John Hammond has covered all the bases. The 10 cover tunes here have been chosen with care, from blues standards to Chuck Berry to Tom Waits. And with J.J. Cale producing and heavyweights like John Lee Hooker, bassist Tim Drummond and Little Charlie and the Nightcats sitting in, "Got Love If You Want It" is solid technically. Unfortunately,...

The Sports Xchange EditorsNote: adds new graf at end with reports about Nets' next coach Report: Kidd offered Bucks' coaching position only The Milwaukee Bucks are offering Jason Kidd the opportunity to be the franchise's head coach but are not offering a front-office position, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Sunday. ESPN.com also reported that Kidd would be the team's next coach if the Brooklyn Nets agree to the Bucks' terms of a 2015 second-round draft pick in...

John Hammond Ready for Love It's hard to believe that 40 years into his career, bluesman John Hammond had never written or recorded any of his own compositions. "Ready for Love" remedies the oversight with "Slick Crown Vic," Hammond's first song and a fine track that fits in well with the disc's other 12 tracks, all--of course--covers. Hammond's got great taste, though, and whether tackling Willie Dixon ("Same Thing"), George Jones ("Just One More") or the...

May 31 (Reuters) - Former Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew has been named head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, the National Basketball Association team said on Friday. Drew, who led Atlanta to playoff berths in each of his three seasons there, reached an agreement in principle to replace Jim Boylan, who stepped in on an interim basis after the Bucks and Scott Skiles parted ways in early January. "It was clear to us that Larry's track record in Atlanta, along with his...

John Hammond Ready for Love (Back Porch/Virgin) Maybe John Hammond sold his soul to the devil or something. For years, the son of Columbia Records' legendary talent scout was a perfectly adequate acoustic bluesman with a knack for covering old Mississippi Delta standards in a worn, rubbery voice. His last two CDs, the all-Tom Waits-songs "Wicked Grin" and the almost-as-good "Ready for Love," have been a huge leap forward -- moving beyond his years of merely...

The Sports Xchange NBA Team Report - Milwaukee Bucks - GETTING INSIDE The Bucks are entertaining some big plans for the draft. Barring a last-minute change, Bucks officials have every intention of drafting a big man with their first selection, the 12th overall, on June 28. The Bucks have had a Grand Canyon-size hole in the middle ever since they traded Andrew Bogut to the Warriors in March. Drew Gooden, a true power forward, replaced Bogut and often was overmatched by taller...

The Sports Xchange NBA Team Report - Milwaukee Bucks - GETTING INSIDE The Bucks' roster doesn't remotely resemble the one general manager John Hammond inherited four years ago. In fact, only one player -- Ersan Ilyasova -- is still with the team that Hammond took over on April 11, 2008. And it's not out of the question Ilyasova won't be part of the team next season, either. He is certain to draw plenty of interest from other teams this summer as an unrestricted...

The role of John Hammond in Amblin Entertainment's "Jurassic Park" marks the first acting role for Richard Attenborough in 15 years. In the Steven Spielberg-directed feature, Attenborough portrays the shrewd business tycoon who conceives the idea of creating genetically engineered dinosaurs for a contemporary jungle theme park. "Jurassic Park" is based on the Michael Crichton thriller. In the 15 years since his last acting appearance in "The Chess Players," Attenborough directed...

As another bitterly-disappointing Bucks' season winds down, the speculation is starting to rise about the futures of coach Scott Skiles and general manager John Hammond. The Bucks, who lost to the Pacers 118-109 on Thursday in Indianapolis, are three games behind the 76ers for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Considering the Bucks have just four games remaining, their playoff hopes are on a respirator. If the Bucks fail to advance to postseason play, it...

If Billie Holiday had been John Hammond's only discovery, it would have been enough. When he found the great jazz vocalist, Hammond earned a place in musical history. But Hammond (1910-87) kept searching and finding. Count Basie. Aretha Franklin. Bob Dylan. Bruce Springsteen. Hammond discovered them all, earning a place atop the list of music's talent scouts. His life's work is the focus of an uneven but welcome biography -- "The Producer: John Hammond and the Soul of...

On Sept. 11, 2002, in the waning days before the Pistons were set to open training camp after a 50-win season, Joe Dumars and his staff made a bold move. The Pistons' president traded Jerry Stackhouse, the team's leading scorer and most popular player, to the Wizards for Richard Hamilton as the centerpieces of a six-player trade. Six straight Eastern Conference finals appearances and one NBA championship later, one might say Pistons' fans overcame their shock. "We started winning...

Attacking his guitar strings, stamping one foot on the floor, recollecting nightclubs, cars and heroes, John Hammond mixed personal and blues history for a packed house at the Old Town School of Folk Music Sunday night. The son and namesake of the late, legendary talent scout and record producer who discovered Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, the 68-year-old Hammond began his career as a blues singer in his teens, releasing his first record a half-century ago...

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May 31 (Reuters) - Former Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew has been named head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, the National Basketball Association team said on Friday. Drew, who led Atlanta to playoff berths in each of his three seasons there, reached an agreement in principle to replace Jim Boylan, who stepped in on an interim basis after the Bucks and Scott Skiles parted ways in early January. "It was clear to us that Larry's track record in Atlanta, along with his...